Seeing Red
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Amber is beyond annoyed by a new prince who's taken it upon himself to make Desmond's life miserable.


Seeing Red

Summary: Amber is beyond annoyed by a new prince who's taken it upon himself to make Desmond's life miserable.

Disclaimer: I do not own the show.

A/N: Well, after watching "Princess Adventure Club," I couldn't help noticing how in the background Desmond was _all over the place_! He was in the lunch room, and then he was running inside the school, and then he was in the astronomy tent… The kid was seriously in so many shots I had to do a double take. Lol. So I was like, "Fine, Desmond. I'll write a story about you. Happy?" Haha. :D

"Oh, Desmond!"

The fair-haired prince turned around and smiled when he saw one of his dearest friends moving quickly toward him. "Hi, Amber," he greeted, pleased to see her in a good mood. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

She blinked as she folded her arms. "I'm not in a hurry."

"Amber, you were practically power walking down the hallway." He laughed as she rolled her eyes. "That's the fastest I've seen you move since the day the teachers were handing out multi-purpose fans."

Amber grinned. "Oh, hush. But I do have some exciting news." She grabbed his arm and tugged him in the opposite direction.

"But I have to get to study hall," he reminded her, attempting to loosen her grip but failing miserably. When Amber made up her mind about something, there really was no stopping her.

"Oh, Desmond, you'll have plenty of time to study later! We have a new student—a _prince_ , no less—and he doesn't know many people, so I thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves."

The shorter boy smiled patiently at the blonde girl. "Okay, Amber, but I really have to get to study hall after that."

"I know! I promise you won't miss an opportunity to become even more intelligent than you already are." She giggled as he blushed at her compliment. "Oh, there he is." She pointed toward a red-haired boy dressed in a dark green suit and square-rimmed glasses. "Hollis!"

The prince in question glanced toward the pair approaching him, and he smiled pleasantly as he waved away a few younger princes with whom he'd been talking. "Ah, Princess Amber," he greeted vigorously as he took her free hand and kissed it dramatically. "Still as radiant as the sun, I see."

"Mm," Desmond murmured, decidedly unnerved by the new kid's over-friendly gesture with someone he considered a close friend.

Amber giggled, flattered by the motion. "Oh, Hollis. This is my friend, Desmond." She retracted her hand to pat the other boy on his arm. "I figured if you need to know _anyone_ at Royal Prep, it's Desmond. He's a genius, not to mention a wonderful partner in enchanted science fairs."

"Oh, well, nice to meet you, Demon," Hollis greeted, though he mispronounced the other prince's name.

"It's Desmond," the shorter boy corrected, slightly annoyed with the worst possible mix-up for a name.

"Right, right. Of course. Well, if you two will excuse me, I must be off to study hall."

Amber grinned, nudging Desmond. "Desmond is heading there right now. Maybe you two could go together."

The look Desmond gave Amber at that moment was similar to the look James had given her when she suggested he not use his cannons for a month: one of disbelief and shock. "Uh, Amber, I…"

"That would be wonderful," Hollis interrupted as he lifted his hands to grasp the straps of his backpack. "Lead the way, _Desmond_."

Amber smiled and whispered to her friend, "See? He's not so bad." She winked and took off down the hallway, turning to say, "I'll see you after school, Desmond."

"R-Right." He sighed as he reluctantly led the red-haired prince toward the study hall. "Um, just this way, then…"

"Yeah, I figured that out," the new prince replied curtly while rolling his eyes. "Some genius."

Desmond frowned before becoming quiet, something he was good at when people chastised or berated him. He continued on.

The end of the day could not have approached any slower than it did. Or at least that was Desmond's point of view. During study hall, he had attempted to read and practice some spells for his sorcery class, but Hollis simply would not leave him alone. In fact, he'd become so insufferable with his spitballs, mocking gestures, tripping, sneering, and eye rolls that Desmond had finally requested to be moved elsewhere.

The young prince sighed as he finally heard the bell toll, signaling the end of the school day. He exited the front doors and began his descent down the steps, toward the grass where Amber stood waiting for him.

"There you are!" Amber smiled as her friend walked over toward her. "You were taking so long I thought you'd gotten lost or something." She then frowned as she noticed his downcast look. "Desmond, what's wrong?"

"Huh?" he uttered, looking at her with a slightly more aware expression. "Oh, um, nothing, Amber… I'm fine."

The princess folded her arms. "Desmond."

The boy winced at this tone. He knew this tone. She only used it when she meant business, and he'd been around both Amber and James enough to know that her tone usually only changed when the younger twin (or anyone else) did something she disapproved of… "Well…"

"Oh, Damon!"

Amber blinked as Hollis traipsed down the steps and over toward them. "Hollis?"

"Hi there, Amber," the redhead gushed with a grin. "I'm glad to see you."

"You are?"

Desmond frowned when the other prince placed his hand on his shoulder, and not exactly in a friendly way…more like a challenging way, if he had to guess. "I doubt it," he mumbled, and he blushed when he realized that Amber seemed to have heard him as she cast a curious look toward him.

Hollis smiled broadly and put his hands behind his back. "Didn't Damon-?"

"Desmond," both friends corrected, irritation especially laced in their words.

"…Desmond… Didn't he tell you all about our plans for the weekend?"

The fair-haired boy's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"I believe you and I were to have a gathering at your castle tomorrow, eh?" Green eyes sparkled behind those square-rimmed glasses.

"What?" Amber seemed disappointed. "But Desmond, you and I were supposed to work on our history project tomorrow."

Desmond seemed a bit conflicted. He wasn't sure where Hollis had gotten this information that they were to have a meeting in his kingdom, and he certainly wasn't about to let down one of his closest friends. "We still are, Amber. I'm not sure what Hollis is talking about."

Hollis folded his arms. "You know quite well what I'm referring to, Damon. When we were in the study hall, you indicated that you wanted me to vacate the area surrounding your immediate perimeter, and I agreed only upon the condition whereby you would offer me some form of negotiation."

The blonde girl blinked. "What?"

Desmond sighed. "I wanted him to leave me alone," he clarified, "because he was bothering me."

"Was not," Hollis argued with a huff. "I'm simply trying to make _friends_ , but if you're going to be a royal stiff who only wants to study his precious history books, act like a spoiled rich kid, and work with a _girl_ on a stupid school project, then by all means. Have at it then, Damon."

Amber narrowed her eyes and stepped toward the shorter boy. "First of all, his name is Desmond. D-e-s-m-o-n-d. _Desmond_. It's not a hard name, _Holly_." She heard Desmond stifle a snicker as the redhead looked rather embarrassed. "Second of all, while I had hoped that you and Desmond would hit it off as friends, he doesn't owe you _anything_. And he's one of the least selfish and spoiled people I know, so I'd think twice before insulting him again. Oh, and by the way, you'd be _lucky_ to work with me…or any other girl at this school for that matter." She turned around, grabbed her friend's hand, and began pulling him away. "Desmond, let's go."

Once they were away from Hollis, who'd begun sulking and stalking off to a different location, Desmond grinned at Amber. "You're amazing."

She grinned back at him. "I know."

"I don't tell you that enough. You really are the best friend a guy could have."

Amber smirked, poking him lightly in the chest. "And don't you forget it, Desmond. Now come on. That history project isn't going to create itself! And I want an A-PLUS this time!" She pulled him quickly toward her flying coach, the young prince smiling the whole way.

The end

(A/N: Well, hi! I'll be working on "Obscure" again this weekend. I fell behind with everything going on personally and professionally, so I'm trying to catch up once more. I do plan to _attempt_ to get another short story out soon. The next one I'm planning on is "Empathy," but I'll see. ;) Hope you all have a good weekend!)


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